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Looking Ahead to the Rochester Country Fair

onFebruary 27, 2014

Even though the fairgrounds of the Rochester Country Fair are still frozen beneath inches of rapidly melting snow right now, preparation for the 2014 country fair is nonetheless underway, six months ahead of the big annual event in August.

Before the crowds gather – scratching mosquito bites and dripping with sweat while playing Cow Chip Bingo – the Rochester Country Fair Committee is busy organizing the next year’s event. In fact, the committee starts preparing for the next year’s fair within a fortnight of the fair’s conclusion, coming up with new ideas and planning fundraisers: a year-long venture, according to Committee Member Beverly Pierce.

“One of the things we do every year is pick a theme,” said Pierce, who has volunteered on the committee for 14 of the 15 years that the country fair has run.

This year’s theme is “Team Spirit,” and the next upcoming fundraising event is a dinner dance on Saturday, March 1, where guests are encouraged, “but not required,” to dress up like their favorite sports teams, or don their old high school or college gear from years ago.

The live band “The Relics” will provide music for dancing, and the menu features a stuffed chicken breast dinner catered by Matt’s Blackboard of Rochester.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Pierce. “Everybody has a good time.”

There will also be a raffle that night, and one lucky guest will win a brand new iPad Air, donated by Rockland Trust Bank.

The dinner dance is one of the major fundraisers for the country fair, which costs around $50,000 to put on, including the entertainment and the police and fire coverage of the event.

The “Team Spirit” theme is carried throughout the country fair, and fair-goers who watch the annual parade will also see Team Spirit displayed during the procession.

Pierce said there will be a tractor pull fundraiser in April, and the committee is trying to pull together a concert event that will feature a well-known local band.

Tickets for the Team Spirit Dinner Dance Fundraiser are $20 and must be purchased in advanced at Matt’s Blackboard Café or the Hair & Body Solution, both located at the Plumb Corner Mall in Rochester, or at the Ponderosa on Rt. 105 near the Acushnet/Rochester line.

Dinner is at 7:00 pm, and The Relics will go on at 8:00 pm.

Visit www.rochesterma.com for more information, or to donate an item for the raffle.